On 22 November 2024, this year's Four Country Conference (Vierländerkonferenz) took place in Liechtenstein, hosted by the Liechtenstein Arbitration Association (LIS) and organised by the Austrian Arbitration Association (Arb|Aut), the German Institution of Arbitration (DIS), the Liechtenstein Arbitration Association (LIS), the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA), the Swiss Arbitration Centre and the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC).
The Vierländerkonferenz is characterised by the fact that topics are presented and discussed in depth in German from the perspective of all four countries.
The conference programme was opened by Hubertus Schumacher, President of the Supreme Court of the Principality of Liechtenstein. He gave an insight into the reception of law and jurisprudence in Liechtenstein, which derives much of its law from Austria and Switzerland and only has enforcement agreements with these two countries.
The following three panels discussed their topics from the perspective of the four jurisdictions. The first panel dealt with “anti-arbitration injunctions”, i.e. court orders prohibiting a dispute from being brought before an arbitral tribunal. This is a common law instrument that does not exist in any of the four jurisdictions involved. In Germany, some courts grant legal protection to affected companies under Section 1032 (2) of the German Code of Civil Procedure.
The second panel dealt with arbitration and insolvency. The insolvency laws of the participating jurisdictions involved are in some cases very different; in any case, difficult conflict of laws issues arise as to how the insolvency statute affects foreign arbitral proceedings.
Finally, the third panel was devoted to antitrust law in arbitration. Significant differences between the EU countries of Austria and Germany and the non-EU countries of Liechtenstein and Switzerland were highlighted. The topics discussed ranged from the scope of public policy in cases of over- and under-enforcement to the impact of EU antitrust law on arbitral proceedings conducted in Switzerland and under Swiss law.
The DIS is pleased to announce that the next Vierländerkonferenz will take place on 20/21 November 2025 in Munich. Save the date!
Reinmar Wolff